Download or read book Harmonizing and reducing trade distorting domestic support An analysis of the impacts of new domestic support disciplines at the WTO written by Glauber, Joseph W. and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2021-11-30 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The upcoming WTO Ministerial in November 2021 will once again provide WTO Members with an opportunity to address and reform agricultural domestic support. As pointed out in the Draft Chair Text on Agriculture of 29 July 2021, the Domestic Support pillar has been at the heart of the agricultural negotiations since their commencement in 2000, and, to date, has proven to be a challenging area to achieve consensus on how best to further reforms in that area. This paper examines three broad questions: First, what would be the effect on agricultural trade if Members were to fully utilize domestic support entitlements under the current Agreement on Agriculture. To study the role of existing policy space inherited from the Uruguay Round, we examine the impact of full utilization of domestic support entitlements on agricultural markets. Under the scenario, trade-distorting support would increase to USD 1.3 trillion, 5.5 times the level under the baseline scenario (USD 246 billion). Assuming full use of policy space, global agricultural production is projected to increase by 6 percent and global prices will drop by 8 percent, with all agricultural product prices showing declines. While farm income rises, a greater share of farm income comes from taxpayer resources, and the efficiency of additional transfers (ratio between increase in farmer income and taxpayer cost) is about 60 percent. The second objective of the paper is to discuss and analyze new disciplines that would further the re-forms accomplished under the Agreement on Agriculture by harmonizing support levels across Members and providing additional constraints to prevent Members from undermining these disciplines by concentrating support in a few commodities. The paper examines how these disciplines would affect production, prices, trade and farm sector income compared to a business-as-usual baseline. We find that using an overall concept of Overall Trade Distorting Support including all forms of trade-distorting measures, associated with amber and blue boxes, will have very negligible impacts on applied policies by 2030 and small effects on the agricultural markets overall. Extending this discipline to measures currently notified under Art. 6.2., the development box, will not put significant constraints on developing countries. Moving to this simplified and more transparent framework will require to define properly an anti-concentration clause, limiting the amount of payments that can benefit the producers of a specific commodity. Such feature will be quite important for sensitive commodities like cotton. Lastly, the paper examines how the proposed disciplines would affect agricultural markets under the alternative baseline that assumes that Members will utilize full entitlements under the current AoA. De-pending on the discipline scenarios, the potential subsidies increase will be reduced by USD 240 billion to USD 800 billion.

Download or read book WTO Disciplines on Agricultural Support written by David Orden and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2011-03-31 with total page 519 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Farm support is contentious in international negotiations. This in-depth assessment of the legal compliance and economic evaluation issues raised by the WTO Agreement on Agriculture presents consistent support data and forward-looking projections for eight developed and developing countries (EU, US, Japan, Norway, Brazil, China, India, Philippines), using original estimates where official notifications are not available. Variations over time in notified support in some cases reflect real policy changes; others merely reflect shifts in how countries represent their measures. The stalled Doha negotiations presage significantly tighter constraints for developed countries that provide the highest support, but loopholes will persist. Developing countries face fewer constraints and their trade-distorting farm support can rise. Pressure points and key remaining issues if a Doha agreement is reached are evaluated. Vigilant monitoring for compliance of farm support with WTO commitments will be required to lessen its negative consequences whether or not the Doha Round is concluded.

Download or read book How Effective are WTO Disciplines on Domestic Support and Market Access for Agriculture written by and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book WTO Disciplines on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures written by Dominic Coppens and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2014-05-22 with total page 695 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A legal and normative analysis of WTO disciplines on industrial and agricultural subsidies and countervailing duties.

Download or read book Domestic Support and the WTO Negotiations written by Daniel A. Sumner and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In their attempt to maximise trade benefits, agricultural trade negotiators must allocate scarce resources and consider trade-offs across issues such as liberalising foreign border measures or reducing foreign domestic subsidies. Analysis and examples support the notion that more liberalisation will be achieved in the new WTO round by emphasis on lowering border barriers and export subsidies rather than attempting to discipline domestic farm subsidies directly. Analyses of EU grain policy, Korean rice policy and US sugar policy show how reduced export subsidy or more import access have substantial trade benefits, even if farmers are compensated with payments or price supports.

Download or read book A Quantitative Analysis of Proposals on Domestic Support in WTO Agriculture Negotiations written by Sachin Kumar Sharma and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Disciplining domestic support to agriculture remains an unfinished agenda in the WTO negotiations due to the different views and positions of members. Developing members have been consistently demanding an effective special and differential treatment (S&DT) for themselves, along with a substantial reduction in the trade-distorting support entitlement of developed members. However, members have failed to reach a consensus on different aspects, especially coverage and approaches to determine an overall trade-distorting support (OTDS) limit. In this context, this study quantifies and critically examines the implications of various proposals on the policy space to provide trade-distorting support based on floating and fixed reference period models. It estimates trade-distorting entitlements of 9 developed and 16 developing members under the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) as well as the selected proposals for the years 2020 and 2030. These entitlements have been computed in monetary limits, percentage of the value of production, and on per farmer basis. Results show that many proposals have failed to deliver the effective S&DT, as developing members generally have to undertake higher cuts than developed members, highlighting the asymmetries in negotiations. The study will be useful for members to take an informed position in the agriculture negotiations on domestic support.

Download or read book U S Farm Support written by Randy Schnepf and published by . This book was released on 2019-10-20 with total page 30 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements, the United States has committed to abide by WTO rules and disciplines, including those that govern domestic farm policy as spelled out in the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA). Since establishment of the WTO on January 1, 1995, the United States has complied with its WTO spending limits on marketdistorting types of farm program outlays (referred to as amber box spending). However, the addition of large, new trade assistance payments to producers in 2018 and 2019, on top of existing farm program support, has raised concerns by some U.S. trading partners, as well as market watchers and policymakers, that U.S. domestic farm subsidy outlays might exceed the annual spending limit of $19.1 billion agreed to as part of U.S. commitments to WTO member countries. CRS analysis indicates that the United States probably did not violate its WTO spending limit in 2018 but could potentially exceed it in 2019. A farm support program can violate WTO commitments in two principal ways: first, by exceeding spending limits on certain market-distorting programs, and second, by generating distortions that spill over into the international marketplace and cause significant adverse effects. Program outlays are cumulative, and compliance with WTO commitments is based on annual aggregate spending levels. Under the WTO's AoA, total U.S. amber box outlays (that is, those outlays deemed market distorting) are limited to $19.1 billion annually, subject to de minimis exemptions. De minimis exemptions are spending that is sufficiently small (less than 5% of the value of production)-relative to either the value of a specific product or total production-to be deemed benign. Since 1995, the United States has apparently stayed within its amber box limits. However, U.S. compliance has hinged on judicious use of the de minimis exemptions in a number of years to exclude certain amber box spending from counting against the amber box limit. These exemptions have never been challenged by another WTO member. According to CRS analysis, projected U.S. amber box spending for 2018 (inclusive of $8.7 billion in product-specific outlays under the 2018 trade assistance package) could exceed $14 billion. This would be the largest U.S. amber box notification since 2001. However, despite its magnitude, it still would fit within the U.S. spending limit of $19.1 billion. A more ambiguous result is projected for 2019. The expansion of direct payments under a second trade assistance package to $14.5 billion in 2019 and their shift to a non-product-specific WTO classification-when combined with currently projected spending under other non-product-specific programs such as the Price Loss Coverage (PLC) and Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) programs-could push U.S. amber box outlays above $24 billion. This would be in excess of the U.S. amber box spending limit of $19.1 billion. However, this projection hinges on several as-yet-unknown factors, including market prices, output values, and program outlays under traditional countercyclical ARC and PLC programs. If the final price and revenue values are higher than currently projected, then program payments under ARC and PLC could be smaller than those used in this analysis. This could decrease both aggregate non-product-specific outlays and the possibility of exceeding the amber box spending limit. If cumulative payments in any year were to exceed the agreed-upon spending limit, then the United States would be in violation of its commitments and could be vulnerable to a challenge under the WTO's dispute settlement mechanism. Furthermore, to the extent that such program outlays might induce surplus production and depress market prices, they could also result in potential challenges under the WTO.

Download or read book The Role of Trade in Ending Poverty written by and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Role of Trade in Ending Poverty looks at the complex relationships between economic growth, poverty reduction and trade, and examines the challenges that poor people face in benefiting from trade opportunities. Written jointly by the World Bank Group and the WTO, the publication examines how trade could make a greater contribution to ending poverty by increasing efforts to lower trade costs, improve the enabling environment, implement trade policy in conjunction with other areas of policy, better manage risks faced by the poor, and improve data used for policy-making.

Download or read book WTO Constraints and the CAP written by Jean-Pierre Butault and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The most recent EU notifications to the World Trade Organization regarding domestic support refer to the EU-15, i.e. before significant reforms of the direct payments as well as the reforms of the Mediterranean products, hops, sugar, etc. that took place after 2003. We estimate the actual level of domestic support, as measured by the WTO Aggregate Measure of Support (AMS), given the 2004 EU enlargement and the recent reforms of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). We then compare the different proposals for a new discipline on domestic support that were recently issued under the Doha Development Round and we assess the constraints imposed on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The EU proposal prior to the 2005 Hong Kong WTO ministerial meeting was that the EU would cut its present AMS and Overall Trade Distorting Support (OTDS) ceilings by 70% in either case. We find that such a cut mainly consolidates under the WTO the significant changes made to EU domestic support policies since the conclusion of the Uruguay Round. However, there are some downside risks for the EU and much depends on the further negotiations on the details of the disciplines to be agreed (e.g. the base period for the OTDS reference). In addition, a 70% cut leave no freedom for counting some potentially controversial subsidies against the AMS if needed. Accession of Bulgarian and Romania will make the constraints more binding. The ability to meet the domestic support discipline of the EU offer relies on the assumption that its market access component will lead to a significant reduction in the remaining AMS (particularly important in the case of fruits and vegetables). Overall, the EU proposal regarding a cut in the AMS is binding, even though it requires rather minor and sectoral changes to the CAP. Proposals that beyond the EU "Hong Kong" offer require reforming some common market organizations, but could be dealt with if the EU implemented a significant reform of the fruits and vegetables sector, that might give a larger degree of freedom regarding the AMS ceiling.

Download or read book A Practical Guide to Trade Policy Analysis written by Marc Bacchetta and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Trade flows and trade policies need to be properly quantified to describe, compare, or follow the evolution of policies between sectors or countries or over time. This is essential to ensure that policy choices are made with an appropriate knowledge of the real conditions. This practical guide introduces the main techniques of trade and trade policy data analysis. It shows how to develop the main indexes used to analyze trade flows, tariff structures, and non-tariff measures. It presents the databases needed to construct these indexes as well as the challenges faced in collecting and processing these data, such as measurement errors or aggregation bias. Written by experts with practical experience in the field, A Practical Guide to Trade Policy Analysis has been developed to contribute to enhance developing countries' capacity to analyze and implement trade policy. It offers a hands-on introduction on how to estimate the distributional effects of trade policies on welfare, in particular on inequality and poverty. The guide is aimed at government experts engaged in trade negotiations, as well as students and researchers involved in trade-related study or research. An accompanying DVD contains data sets and program command files required for the exercises. Copublished by the WTO and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

Download or read book Aid for Trade at a Glance 2019 Economic Diversification and Empowerment written by OECD and published by OECD Publishing. This book was released on 2019-07-11 with total page 532 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This edition analyses how trade can contribute to economic diversification and empowerment, with a focus on eliminating extreme poverty, particularly through the effective participation of women and youth. It shows how aid for trade can contribute to that objective by addressing supply-side capacity and trade-related infrastructure constraints, including for micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises notably in rural areas.

Download or read book Domestic Regulation and Service Trade Liberalization written by Pierre Sauve and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2003-08-29 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Trade in services, far more than trade in goods, is affected by a variety of domestic regulations, ranging from qualification and licensing requirements in professional services to pro-competitive regulation in telecommunications services. Experience shows that the quality of regulation strongly influences the consequences of trade liberalization. WTO members have agreed that a central task in the ongoing services negotiations will be to develop a set of rules to ensure that domestic regulations support rather than impede trade liberalization. Since these rules are bound to have a profound impact on the evolution of policy, particularly in developing countries, it is important that they be conducive to economically rational policy-making. This book addresses two central questions: What impact can international trade rules on services have on the exercise of domestic regulatory sovereignty? And how can services negotiations be harnessed to promote and consolidate domestic policy reform across highly diverse sectors? The book, with contributions from several of the world's leading experts in the field, explores a range of rule-making challenges arising at this policy interface, in areas such as transparency, standards and the adoption of a necessity test for services trade. Contributions also provide an in-depth look at these issues in the key areas of accountancy, energy, finance, health, telecommunications and transportation services.

Download or read book Navigating the trade landscape A Latin American perspective building on the WTO 13th ministerial conference written by Piñeiro, Valeria and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2024-08-19 with total page 166 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This publication-a joint effort by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA)-is being released in the context of growing changes and fragmentation in global economic and trade relationships. Countries are increasingly adopting protectionist measures in response to recent crises and the decreased competitiveness of value chains, due to rising production, marketing and transportation costs. The complex multilateral trade system and the urgent need to implement concrete actions in this area are prompting countries to work towards the adoption of new standards that aim to protect and preserve the environment but could also become barriers to trade that impose a significant economic and social cost on other countries. The countries of the Americas must continue to support efforts to strengthen the multilateral trade system, ensuring that it is open, transparent and science-based, as well as to effectively participate in discussion forums such as the ministerial conferences of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Amidst this scenario, international trade plays a vital role in transforming food systems, by interconnecting them and contributing to creating a more sustainable global food system. In recent years, the growth of production and exports has converted Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) into the largest net food exporting region in the world. On average, agrifood exports from the region in 2021-2023 accounted for 17% of global agrifood exports, representing one fourth of total exports from the region. During that period, LAC agrifood exports grew by 7.6%. Yet, it bears mentioning that, despite its important role, the region has its share of challenges. During 2023, 85% of LAC agrifood exports were directed at external markets and 53% of the value of exported agrifood exports was concentrated among only 10 products. This demonstrates the region’s significant vulnerability and is undoubtedly a challenge that must be addressed. This document is an inter-institutional effort to share ideas and reflections on the main issues to be tackled building on the 13th WTO Ministerial Conference. We hope that it will serve as input in strengthening the participation of the countries of the Americas in WTO multilateral negotiations, while also highlighting the key role of agricultural trade in agrifood system transformation.

Download or read book The WTO at Twenty written by World Trade Organization and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 88 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This research explores how multilateralism in trade has worked over the past twenty years - and provides some lessons about how it can work in the future. It describes the WTO's achievements across a number of key areas, including: strengthening the institutional foundations of the trade system; widening its membership and increasing participation; deepening trade integration through lower barriers and stronger rules; improving transparency and policy dialogue; strengthening dispute settlement; expanding cooperation with other international organizations; and enhancing public outreach. It concludes that the WTO has achieved much over its first twenty years but the success of the WTO has inevitably given rise to new challenges.

Download or read book Agricultural Subsidies in the WTO Green Box written by Ricardo Meléndez-Ortiz and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2009-12-03 with total page 706 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Growing evidence suggests that 'green box' farm subsidies may in fact affect production and trade, harm farmers in developing countries and cause environmental damage. This book brings together new research and analysis examining the relationship between green box subsidies and sustainable development goals, and explores options for future reform.

Download or read book The Right to Food and the World Trade Organization s Rules on Agriculture written by Rhonda Ferguson and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2018-01-03 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In The Right to Food and the World Trade Organization’s Rules on Agriculture: Conflicting, Compatible, or Complementary?, Rhonda Ferguson explores the relationship between the human right to food and agricultural trade rules. She questions whether States can adhere to their obligations under both regimes simultaneously. These two regimes are frequently portrayed to be in tension with one another. The content and contours of the right to food under international human rights law and WTO rules on domestic supports, export subsidies, and market access are considered through the lens of norm conflict theories. The analysis is situated within the context of the debate surrounding the fragmentation of international law.

Download or read book Agriculture written by World Tourism Organization and published by . This book was released on 2017-02-07 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The WTO's Agreements are the legal foundation for the international trading system that is used by the bulk of the world's trading nations. This series offers a set of handy reference booklets on selected Agreements. Each volume contains the text of one agreement, an explanation designed to help the user understand the text, and in some cases supplementary material. This fully revised and updated edition provides an overview of the WTOs Agriculture Agreement, the full legal text of the Agreement, and the decisions and recommendations adopted by the Agriculture Committee since 1 January 1995. It is the latest title in the WTO Agreements Series, which aims to assist public understanding of the WTO agreements